


The Sum of a Soul

by amairel



Category: Beastmaster
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Angst, Episode Related, Gen, Harm to Children, Hurt/Comfort, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2001-02-25
Updated: 2001-02-25
Packaged: 2017-12-25 06:58:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 10,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/950075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amairel/pseuds/amairel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Iara lets her jealousy get the better of her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Teaser

**Author's Note:**

> NOTE: ‘…’ is used for character thoughts. /…/ is used for communication with the animals. ~Flashback~ is for the flashback sequences and ~end Flashback~ is for the end of the flashback sequence. Anything not enclosed by the ~Flashback~ is happening in real time.  
> WARNING: Just remember, everything works out in the end.  
> SPOILER: Small ones for The White Tiger.  
> DISCLAIMER: The characters are the property of Tribune and Atlantis Alliance and do not belong to me; only the words and ideas are mine.  
> FEEDBACK: Please, it really helps the Muse work. Send it all to amairel@yahoo.com.

Love consists of the condition in which the other person’s welfare becomes essential to your own. ~ Robert A. Heinlein  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

A funeral silence hung in the air while he stared in disbelief at the place where his friend had been only moments ago. A shiver shook his body as he fully grasped the magnitude of his loss and a name was wrenched from his throat in anger.

"Iara!" 

A moment passed that seemed a lifetime to the lone man before a cloud of mist rolled into the clearing where he stood. With lifeless eyes, he watched as the figure of Iara, the snake demon appeared from within the mist. A sardonic smile graced the face of the beautiful and deadly demon as she walked towards him. Stopping in front of him, she stared up at him and spoke.

"You called, Beastmaster?"

A shudder coursed through his body at her voice and Dar closed his eyes. 

"Why?"

The pain filled question hung in the air between them until Dar opened his eyes and stared at the snake demon.

"‘Why’ what, Beastmaster?"

The smug voice cracked the fragile control he held and, with an inarticulate roar, he grasped her shoulders and stared into her eyes. The expression of burning rage within his eyes immobilized Iara, and she wondered rather inanely if the angry mortal would be able to kill her. Dar leaned in and, in a voice that showed his slipping emotional control, whispered into her ear.

"Why did you take him? Where is he? What have you done to him?"

The questions came fast and furious until the last question was shouted into her ear causing Iara to wince in pain. Realizing that she was loosing all control over the situation, Iara blew in his face and froze him. Escaping from his clutch, she frowned in confusion at the expression on Dar’s frozen face. 

"Why does he react with such anger at the loss of another mortal? I left his animal friends alone this time. I need to speak to the Ancient One, he will know what this is about." 

Whirling away from the frozen Beastmaster, Iara disappeared back into the mist. In direct correlation with the dissipating mist, the frozen Dar slowly thawed and, with a start, he stumbled as he regained control over his body. Looking around the empty clearing, Dar felt a growing sense of defeat. Dropping to his knees he lifted his head and roared out his pain with one word. 

"Tao!"


	2. Act 1

Ignoring the amber tomb that ensorcelled the Sorceress, Iara stalked toward the figure leaning over the scrying pool. Opening her mouth to ask her question, her steam was stolen when, without turning to her, the figure spoke.

"Come to bother me with your pesky problems, Iara? My, my, but you’re turning out to be as bothersome as my former student. Is this about the Beastmaster again?" 

The sarcastic tone of voice warned Iara that the Ancient One was not very happy with her, but unwilling to show her fear, she barged on with her questions.

"Why is the Beastmaster so upset that I took his clumsy friend? I left his animal friends alone."

The petulant voice was almost more than the Ancient One could bear, and he wondered anew what it was about the mortal soul of Curupira that caused demon and sorceress alike to forget the Rules and their training and pursue him.

With a deep sigh, the Ancient One turned away from the scene he had been actively pursuing until Iara had arrived and raised an eyebrow at the pouting figure before him.

"Well, what do you expect me to say?"

"I want you to tell me why Dar is so angry with me and how I can fix it."

Shaking his head in disbelief, the Ancient One left the geode and walked to stand before the amber tomb of his former student. Beckoning one handed for Iara to join him; the Ancient One looked into the conscious eyes of the Sorceress.

"I hope you are comfortable with the accommodations, my dear. I was hoping that you could deal with this little problem Iara is having since you are the expert on emotions."

Without waiting to hear her reply, the Ancient One turned and stalked out of the cavern leaving the disappointed Iara to stare at the entombed Sorceress. Aware that the Ancient One would not help her, Iara decided that she had no choice but to ask her one-time co-conspirator for advice. 

"Can you help me?"

Uncomfortable with the question from her former partner and rival for the Beastmaster’s attention, the Sorceress pondered Iara’s words for a moment. Before Iara could become impatient, she answered her.

"Tell me what happened and I will help you as much as I can."

Throwing back her hands in disgust, Iara turned away from the imprisoned woman. Unable to move, the Sorceress waited patiently for Iara to make her mind up. After a while, Iara walked back into her line of vision and, stopping before the Sorceress, she abruptly began speaking.

"It all began this morning when I overheard the Beastmaster and his companion…."


	3. Act 2

~Flashback~

The sound of Tao’s grumbling woke Dar and he turned over to listen drowsily as Tao scolded the two ferrets who impudently chattered back at him. A smile crossed his face as he listened to what the ferrets were saying in response to Tao.

‘And he claims that he can’t communicate with the animals.’ He thought fondly.

Rising from his bedroll, Dar walked over to sit beside Tao by the campfire and reached for the nuts and berries lying on a leaf beside Tao. 

"Hey! Those are mine. If you want some, get them from that tree beside you." 

Tao’s exasperated voice and the ferrets’ complaints coincided, causing Dar to laugh. The frown that crossed Tao’s face made him laugh even harder and, when he had settled down, he reached over and snagged a couple of berries from Tao’s pile anyway. 

"Dar. I have enough trouble with the ferrets stealing my food, don’t you start too." 

Tao’s voice held just a hint of warning and, deciding to tease him just a little, Dar began to babble. 

"Tao. Good-morning to you too. And a fine morning it is. How are you feeling? Have you been getting enough rest? You seem rather irritable this morning, maybe you should go to bed earlier."

As he babbled on in a fairly accurate mimicry of a nervous Tao, the Eiron struggled to hide his smile until he could no longer control his laughter and broke down. As his laughter finally petered out, Tao looked over at the smug Dar through tear-filled eyes.

"That wasn’t nice, Dar."

His faintly scolding words caused Dar to smile and he handed Tao some berries to replace the ones he had taken. 

~end Flashback~

"When I saw Dar smile at the Eiron, I was overcome with a feeling such as I had never experienced before. I wanted to take the Eiron’s place beside Dar and I wanted to make the Eiron pay for seeing something that I had only seen once. Then and there I decided that the Eiron had to go."

Listening to Iara ramble on about the beauty of Dar’s smile and how it was reserved for her sight alone, the Sorceress finally understood what the Ancient One had been warning her about concerning the power of emotion. Worry for the Eiron scholar caused the Sorceress to interrupt Iara’s monologue sharply.

"What did you do?"

Frowning at the Sorceress, Iara stalked up to her and hissed.

"Be careful how you speak to me, Sorceress. I’m sure I can persuade the Ancient One to allow me to discipline you."

Checking to make sure the Sorceress was sufficiently cowed, Iara continued.

"Tell me what the name of the emotion I was feeling is."

The demand rankled at her pride but, knowing she was defenseless, the Sorceress answered her.

"The feeling is ‘jealousy’. It is an emotion experienced by mortals, and obviously by demons, when they feel envious of something that another has or received. Now, tell me what you have done to the Eiron!"

The Sorceress’ voice rose towards the end and Iara looked at her askance.

"Don’t tell me that you have feelings for the Eiron also? What can you possibly see in that clumsy and talkative fool? I do not understand why Dar allows him to travel with him."

Recognizing the sign of an oncoming discourse, the Sorceress attempted to sidetrack the snake demon.

"I can not help you unless you tell me every detail of your morning activities. If you do not want my help… you can leave."

Stiffening in outrage, Iara turned her back to the Sorceress and, ignoring the Sorceress’ question about the Eiron, continued with her story.

"I followed them the whole morning but lost them when they rushed off to rescue some hapless human…."


	4. Act 3

~Flashback~

"Where are we headed today, Dar? Neither of us have any set destination anymore and none of the animals have asked you for help…yet."

Listening to Tao talking in the background, Dar was surprised by the screech signaling Sharak’s arrival and scanned the sky for his friend. Spotting him, he established a connection with the immortal bird. What he saw angered him; in a nearby clearing a young girl ran from a horsemen and, tripping, tumbled to the ground. Regaining her footing, she started up again only to be roped in by the lead horseman. Struggling against the men, the young girl stared up at them with fear and anger. The lead horseman took offence to the look and backhanded her, causing her mouth to begin bleeding.

Shaking off the effects of the vision, Dar turned to the concerned Tao and, motioning him to follow, raced to the grove he had seen through Sharak’s eyes. 

~end Flashback~

Pacing restlessly before the entombed Sorceress, Iara began to mumble under her breath.

"After everything that has happened in the past, he still goes to the rescue of anyone who needs help. Why?"

Turning suddenly to the blond woman, she almost screamed her question.

"Why?!"

The echoes of her harshly voiced question rang in the gloomy cavern leaving the Sorceress startled.

‘Is this another reason why the Ancient One warned me not to become emotional? If I were to react in such a manner…yes, now, when it is too late, do I see that the Ancient One may actually have had a point.’

Smiling cynically at her predicament, the Sorceress turned her attention back to the still raging Iara. 

"What happened that has caused you to react in such a manner? You knew from that moment on the Island what the Beastmaster was like. Nothing that has happened has changed him and the likelihood that anything would change him now is slim. Why then do you act so surprised?"

Listening to what the Sorceress was saying, Iara nodded in agreement. 

"True. I knew what Dar was like and was drawn to him because of his tendency to try and help the less fortunate. But this time," her voice trailed off as she turned and walked to the entrance of the cavern and stared out into the star-studded sky. Raising her hand to her lips, Iara languidly caressed them as if remembering the feel of Dar’s lips on her own. Lost in her thoughts, the snake demon was unaware of the Ancient One’s return and so was surprised by his sarcastic voice beside her.

"Have you resolved your emotions to your satisfaction, Iara? Or do you still require my former student’s assistance?"


	5. Act 4

Whirling in surprise, Iara stared with dilated eyes at the figure of the Ancient One who smirked at her.

"Does this mean you are happy to see me, my dear, or are you still pining over the young Beastmaster?"

Blushing for the first time in her many years of existence, Iara stammered for a moment before taking a deep breath.

"Ancient One." 

Trying to hide her embarrassment from him, she turned his attention away from her and back to the unresolved issues she had concerning Dar.

"I still require the Sorceress’ help unless you are willing to help me with your far greater wisdom…."

Trailing off suggestively, Iara waited to see how the Ancient One would react to her flirting.

Raising a carefully styled eyebrow, the Ancient One smiled at her.

"If you must persist in this foolish infatuation with the Beastmaster, then I suggest that you work on your flirting techniques, my dear."

Turning on his heel, the Ancient One strode toward the exit with his deep maroon robe billowing out behind him. Halfway to the exit he stopped and, without turning around, gave her a final piece of advice.

"If you seriously desire to make the Beastmaster yours, I would be careful of what you do to the Eiron."

Without waiting for an acknowledgment, the Ancient One left the cavern leaving a relieved snake demon behind. Shaking her head at the Ancient One’s usual incomprehensible advice, Iara turned to the hitherto silent Sorceress.

"What did he mean by that?"

The question drew the Sorceress’ attention away from the memories invoked by her former teacher’s presence and she stared questioningly at the snake demon.

"What did he mean by what?"

Throwing up her hands in disbelief, Iara stalked toward the frozen Sorceress and, standing in front of her, glared into her eyes.

"What did the Ancient One mean by saying that I should do nothing to the Eiron if I wanted to make Dar mine."

Blinking wide eyes at the irate figure of the snake demon glaring at her, the Sorceress spared a moment to wonder if she had ever been so dense concerning the Ancient One’s advice before answering Iara.

"He meant exactly what he said. If you want the Beastmaster not to hate you, you must not do anything to the Eiron. The Beastmaster is very protective of his friends and the Eiron is one of his only human friends."

A guilty look crossed Iara’s face which immediately set off an alarm in the Sorceress’ mind reminding her that Iara had done something to the Eiron. 

"What have you done to the Eiron? Iara!"

A sense of urgency colored her voice and, raising her voice, she demanded an answer from the snake demon who ignored her. Unable to stop Iara, the Sorceress watched as she walked away and disappeared into the mist gathered at the entrance to the cavern. Slumping forward, the Sorceress lightly touched the barriers of her amber prison and, for the first time since she had begun experiencing emotion, she worried for someone other than herself.


	6. Act 5

Striding into her underwater cavern Iara continued muttering angrily.

"What could the Ancient One and the Sorceress possibly know of what Dar wants? No matter what they say, I refuse to believe that Dar could care for the pesky mortal so much that he would turn away from me."

Convincing herself on the rightness of what she had done, Iara nevertheless found herself standing before a clear green crystal tomb oddly reminiscent of the amber tomb that incased the Sorceress. Floating within the barrier was the unconscious form of the Eiron scholar, Tao. Staring at the unmoving figure, Iara attempted once more to understand why Dar valued him. 

"Is he dead?"

The questioning voice dragged Iara’s attention away from the Eiron and focused it unerringly on the likewise entombed figure of Curupira, the forest demon.

"What does it matter to you?"

Irritated at the interruption, Iara walked up to her second captive and scowled at her.

"You know that the Beastmaster will never forgive you if his friend is dead? He even threatened me when I tried to take the Eiron from him. What makes you think that Dar will not hate you if Tao dies?"

The laughing voice of Curupira mocked Iara, causing her to loose her temper.

"Remember your place, Curupira. You are my guest here and I can make your life miserable, if you tempt me." 

Smirking at the fuming snake demon, Curupira taunted her.

"And that is supposed to make me fear you? This barrier is the most you will ever be able to do to me and you know it. You should worry more for yourself than for me, lovely Iara. Whether you believe me or not, Dar will not forgive you if you kill his friend. Think on that."

Giggling madly, Curupira closed her eyes and ignored Iara once again. Iara stared at the serene figure of the forest demon and wished with all her heart that she could kill her and be done with it. Stalking away from the blue crystal entombing Curupira, Iara stood before the Eiron once more. Glaring at the silent figure, Iara snapped her fingers causing Tao to jerk awake. Eyes opening wide in surprise, Tao stuttered as he recognized the figure standing before him.

"Iii…Iara."


	7. Act 6

~Flashback~

Stumbling for what felt like the hundredth time, but knowing it was only the third, Tao finally caught up with Dar.

"What is it, Dar? What did Sharak show you?"

Looking futilely around himself for a glimpse of the danger they were rushing into this time, Tao glanced over at Dar when he didn’t answer.

"Dar?"

To Tao’s surprise, the Beastmaster ignored him as he carefully circled the clearing they had entered. Seemingly unsatisfied with their surroundings, Dar communicated with Ruh and Sharak while Tao watched him worriedly. Finally, unable to take the silence any longer, Tao spoke.

"What’s wrong, Dar?"

His voice echoed oddly in the silence of the clearing and he found himself glancing around uneasily. When nothing happened, Tao turned back to his friend who was staring at him.

"You feel it too."

A statement, not a question passed Dar’s lips and Tao’s eyes opened wide.

"Ff.…Feel what?"

Stammering with ill-concealed fear, Tao edged closer to the alert Beastmaster. Dar smiled reassuringly at Tao while keeping an eye on his surroundings. As if to take Tao’s mind off their strange situation, Dar began to explain his behavior.

"Sharak showed me a young girl being chased by warriors on horseback. She ran toward the forest but was caught before she could reach its safety. The warriors slapped her, causing her to bleed. That’s when I ran. But now…"

Tao listened quietly until Dar trailed off and then, keeping an eye on his surroundings, asked Dar what he meant.

"There is something strange about this clearing. It’s too quiet, the sound of the forest doesn’t reach us and Sharak says that he can’t see into the forest on the other side of us. Ruh doesn’t like it here and even the ferrets are uneasy. They keep saying that there is no life here."

Gulping at that, Tao watched as Ruh paced agitatedly before the trail leading into the clearing. Catching a hint of the worry that Ruh was feeling, Tao turned back toward Dar and, happening to glance up past the Beastmaster, froze in shock. Feeling the blood drain from his face, he forced himself to speak, unsure of how well his voice would work. 

"Dar."

~end Flashback~

Dar lifted his head from the fire he had been staring into since being left by Iara and stared toward the clearing at the sound of his name in that familiar voice. An irrational hope burned within him and he called out questioningly, 

"Tao?"

Shaking his head after a moment, Dar returned to his contemplation of the fire, once more ignoring the animals. Kodo and Podo chattered worriedly as their attempt to wring a reaction from the silent Beastmaster failed. Turning, the ferrets looked over at the equally silent Ruh who stood guard at the perimeter of the camp while, in the trees surrounding them, Sharak had settled down and was watching the grieving man.

/Beastmaster. /

The worried voice in his mind caused Dar to glance up at the perched eagle.

"What do you want, Sharak? If you want to ‘save’ another girl you’d do better to find someone else seeing as I can’t even protect my best friend."

The self-hatred in his voice stung, causing Sharak to flinch back and almost lose his balance.

/Beastmaster, what happened was not your fault; if anything it was mine. I should have made sure of what I was seeing before dragging you and the Eiron into the middle of more trouble. /

"No, the fault was mine. Once again, I jumped into a situation I didn’t understand, exposing Tao to even more danger."

No amount of pleading from Sharak could change Dar’s mind and, for the first time that Sharak could remember, Dar turned his attention away from the animals and ignored them.

Staring into the fire once more, Dar let his mind drift back to the moment when everything had gone so horribly wrong. 

~Flashback~

Turning to his companion, Dar was startled to see how pale Tao was. Wondering what had caused the reaction, Dar reached out and laid a comforting hand on Tao’s shoulder. Gently shaking him, Dar waited until his friend’s eyes meet his own before speaking. 

"What is wrong, Tao?"

Dar smiled slightly when his question came out in the same words as Tao’s had earlier but when Tao just stared at him blankly, he frowned openly.

"Tao. What is it? Tell me."

Wondering what had caused the normally verbal Eiron to loose his voice, Dar raised his voice in an effort to reach the silent Tao. He watched with relief as Tao visibly jerked and blinked his eyes. Waiting until he was sure that Tao was actually seeing him, Dar restated his earlier question.

"What is it, Tao? Tell me."

Minute shakes began to course through Tao’s body but he appeared to grasp the question and, still without saying a word, raised his arm and pointed at something over Dar’s shoulder. Frowning at the continued silence, Dar nevertheless turned his head in the direction of Tao’s gesture and gasped.

~end Flashback~


	8. Act 7

Staring into the snake demon’s angry eyes, Tao spared a moment to wonder why she hated him so much before taking a deep breath and, ignoring the strange crystal that surrounded him, tried to talk Iara into letting him go.

"Umm, Iara. If you could explain what has upset you, I might be able to help and then you can return me to Dar’s side. I’m sure that we can work through whatever it is that has bothered you and you won’t have to worry about how Dar will react to your continuous threats toward me."

Speaking nervously, Tao missed the warning sign of Iara’s eyes narrowing and was therefore taken by surprise when his crystal surroundings shattered. Reacting instinctively, he raised his arms to cover his face thereby protecting his eyes while wincing at the sharp pain caused by the crystal shards cutting into his arms. Without the magical crystal to hold him up, he fell to the ground, landing in the middle of a large puddle of water. 

"Ow…" 

Unable to stop himself, Tao groaned a little as he cataloged his assorted injuries as a result of his impromptu introduction to the ground of Iara’s cavern. A hand yanking his chin up reminded him that he had taken his eyes off of a very dangerous and slightly mad demon. Staring into the yellow eyes of the very angry snake demon, Tao gulped.

"Www…what do you want with me, Iara?"

Stuttering just a little, Tao managed to look at Iara as he questioned her. As he watched a crafty smile crossed her petite features and Iara loosened her hold on him only to reach down and pull him up one-handed to stand before her.

"What do I want? That’s easy, I want you gone; away from my Beastmaster and bothering someone else so that he won’t get so distracted by the affairs of the lowly humans and will remain in my domain. Can you give me that, Eiron?"

Shocked at the pure venom dripping from her words, Tao could do nothing but stare at her. 

Whirling away from the uncharacteristically silent Eiron, Iara stalked over to the blue prism and glared at its occupant. Motioning for the scholar to come closer, the angry demon pointed at the frozen figure within. A gasp of surprise escaped Tao as he recognized the forest demon within the prism.

"Curupira." 

Her name escaped from him before he could stop it and he gulped as he stole a fearful glance at the snake demon. Iara ignored him and continued to stare at the forest demon until the silence became oppressive and the ever-impulsive Eiron opened his mouth to question her once again. Just as he opened his mouth, Iara turned her yellow glare on him and caused him to close his mouth with an audible click.

"I wanted to control Dar, to be near him wherever he was. So I caught her and made her domain my own. I thought that was all that would be necessary, but I was wrong. I thought that because he was a Beastmaster he would stay away from the world of humans but I was wrong about that too. And do you know why he helps people?"

The glare in her mad eyes prevented Tao from answering her question but she didn’t wait for him to speak.

"I watched for a while trying to understand what reason he could possibly have for caring about useless humans and then I realized the reason; you." the venom dripping from that one word made Tao wince as he finally realized how precarious his situation was. 

Ignoring him as if he had not made a noise, Iara continued, "I knew that if I could separate you that Dar would have no reason to care what happened to the humans around him and he would return to the forest, back into my domain and my arms. Together, we could rule the forest and I would take care of him and he would love me. But, I need to get rid of you."

A smile of pure malice crossed her features and, finally, Iara looked at Tao.

"How would you like to die, Tao?"


	9. Act 8

Unaware of the imminent danger facing his friend, Dar tossed and turned restlessly in his sleep as the animals kept guard and worried over him. Images assaulted him and once again he was forced to relive that day.

~Flashback~

Staring up into the canopy of trees, Dar was reminded of something he had seen soon after becoming a Beastmaster. Curupira, wanting to test him, had taken him to see the carnage that a group of marauding hunters had left in their wake. Walking into a clearing similar to this one, that had once been home to a family of monkeys; he had been forced to turn away from the gruesome sight that met his eyes. Even after the many atrocities he had seen since then, the sight of the torn and bloodied bodies of harmless children left to hang boneless from the branches was enough to turn his stomach. Turning his eyes away from the sight, Dar focused his attention on his shocked friend. Seeing the blank look in Tao’s eyes and, realizing that he was still seeing the bodies hanging in the trees, Dar placed his own body between his friend and the nightmare image behind him. Once he was sure that Tao could no longer see the dead children, Dar called the Eiron’s name, hoping that the sound of his voice would break through Tao’s shock.

"Tao?"

To his surprise, Tao responded immediately. Staring at the concerned Beastmaster with tear-filled eyes, the Eiron scholar seemed momentarily at a loss for words but finally, after several false starts and in a voice rough with unshed tears, Tao asked him a question he had no answer to. 

"Why?" 

Dar could only shake his head helplessly. 

"I don’t know, Tao, I just don’t know."

Shaking off the weariness that threatened to overwhelm his soul and reluctant to stay in the vicinity longer than necessary, Dar gently turned Tao away from the gruesome trees. Keeping a light touch on his friend’s lower back, Dar guided the still horror-stricken Eiron toward the clearing entrance where Ruh was waiting patiently for them. Just as they reached the forest edge, a fine mist began to curl around their feet and, with a disgruntled sigh, Dar watched as the figure of Iara walked out of the mist. He watched with surprise when Iara, catching sight of them, came to an abrupt stop and glared at the two of them.

"What are you doing here?" 

Uncertain as to what she meant by ‘here’, Dar tried to answer her but before he could open his mouth Tao spoke.

"You knew about this, didn’t you? Is this clearing a place of worship; do hapless humans bring you a sacrifice so that you won’t cause the river to flood and the snakes to bite? Do you eat these…these harmless children?!"

Shocked at the picture Tao’s words were painting, Dar could only watch as Iara paled. The snake demon seemed to waver between anger and shame before choosing the more familiar approach of anger. Yellow eyes narrowed as Iara stalked up to the angry Eiron and glared at him.

"How dare you speak to me like that! I am Iara, demon of this domain and I will not allow a lowly human to speak to me like this. I will punish you for your insolence…." 

Moving quickly, Dar interspersed himself between the angry snake demon and his friend.

"Iara, don’t. Tao didn’t mean to anger you, he is angry at the senseless death we have seen, unless…is he right, do you know what caused the death of these children?"

Staring into the demon’s yellow eyes, Dar watched as her gaze shifted away from his. Disbelief warred with outrage and lost. Furious at the demon-woman for her continuous disregard of human life, Dar spoke the words that he would regret for many nights to come.

"Even Curupira was not so evil or selfish as to require a sacrifice from the people surrounding her domain. She, at least, only killed those who had endangered her animals but you; you called for the deaths of these children. I am the Beastmaster, but before that I am human. As long as I am human…"

"And as long as I travel with Dar." Tao interjected with a smile. Dar nodded at his comment and then continued.

"…I will continue to help humans, so if you want to keep me from hating you, leave the humans alone."

As he spoke, Iara’s expression became filled with rage and the moment he finished she stepped up to him and hissed.

"I will take from you the reason you fight for humans then, Beastmaster; the only thing that still ties you to that pitiful realm. You will regret the words you spoke to me when your ‘little’ friend is no longer by your side."

Before she had even finished speaking a fine mist had begun to swirl around the two men’s feet and as the last word left her mouth the mist became fog and covered the whole clearing. Coughing, Dar struggled to see through the mist-turned-fog and find Tao but he could not see far enough and was forced to wait impatiently for it to clear. As the fog slowly cleared, Dar turned with a sinking heart to the spot beside him where Tao had been when the mist appeared but did not see him. Searching vainly all around him, the Beastmaster was forced to acknowledge the truth; Tao was no longer in the clearing with him and had, more that likely, been taken away by the vengeful snake demon. Anger and rage turned to fear and he let loose a cry of loss.

~Flashback~

"Noooo, Taooo!"

With a bloodcurdling cry of fear, Dar jerked awake to stare out into the surrounding darkness with blind eyes. Still under the influence of his nightmare, he started at the slight movement to his right but relaxed as the comforting presence of Ruh came into his vision.

/What has caused this fear, Beastmaster? You are safe, we are watching over you; you have nothing to fear. Go back to sleep and rest. Tomorrow will come soon enough and you need all your strength if we are going to wrest our Eiron friend from Iara’s grasp. /

The soothing voice of one of his oldest friends soothed him and, closing his eyes, he relaxed and fell asleep to the sound of Ruh’s promise to retrieve Tao.

********

A drop of water hitting the cavern floor dragged Tao from his stupefied silence and he glared at the smiling demon.

"That’s not funny, you shouldn’t joke about such things as death and killing people, especially when you can."

Muttering about demons and their strange sense of humor, Tao sat down against the cavern wall.

Iara watched in surprise and anger as the Eiron, who should have been quaking in his shoes before her, ignored her and rested his weary eyes. Narrowing her eyes at his display of rudeness, Iara was torn between the desire to kill him outright and the desire to see fear cloud his hazel eyes. 

"What makes you think that I was joking, Eiron?"

Without even opening his eyes, Tao answered her.

"You can’t kill me because if you do, Dar will never forgive you. If you go back to him and apologize for the things you’ve been doing to humans and promise to put a stop to the sacrifices being offered to you, Dar will forgive you and give you a second chance. But if you kill me and toss my body to him, he will do everything in his power to make you regret it. He’s already lost his love and Curupira, he won’t be able to stand loosing me too."

Swallowing her rage at the thought of Dar with another woman, Iara strode over to the resting Eiron and loomed over him, casting a shadow on his face. Weary hazel eyes peered up at her questioningly.

"What makes you think that you’re that important to Dar?"

Shaking his head at her lack of understanding, Tao attempted to explain himself to the suddenly curious snake demon.

"I don’t think I’m that important to Dar, but after failing to protect Kyra and Curupira, I’m the only other person he’s close to. Dar takes his duty as Beastmaster very seriously; even you must see that. He does everything in his power to protect the animals that Curupira has entrusted him with but when it’s one of his close animal friends, such as Sharak, Ruh, or Kodo and Podo, he goes to extra lengths to protect them. As far as I know, Kyra, Curupira and myself are the only ‘human’ friends he has. He’s already failed to protect two of the three; he’ll do everything in his power to protect me to make up for that failure."

Upon hearing that the Beastmaster had had only three ‘human’ friends, a truly devious plan reared its head up in her mind. Just to make certain that the plan would work; Iara asked one final, seemingly innocent question.

"Do you think that if you had not been with him when Kyra," she almost spat the name out, "died, he would have remained apart from humans and only have had contact with Curupira?"

Frowning with confusion and unsure of what her ulterior motives where in asking the question, Tao nevertheless thought seriously about it before answering her. 

"If I had not been with him when Kyra died, Dar might have gone back to the forest and forgotten about humans, however, it’s more than likely that they would not have let him. King Zad still wanted to kill or at least capture him and the Sorceress wanted his gifts, so he would probably have had a hard time staying away from humans. Why do you want to know?"

Pleased at the answer she had received, Iara merely smiled at the confused and wary Eiron scholar.

"No reason, no reason at all."

As her forked tongue flickered in the air between them, Tao wondered rather inanely whether he had saved or doomed himself.


	10. Act 9

Rising from the ground after a semi-restful sleep, Dar wondered what the first thing he should do was. Looking back towards the clearing where the children still hung from the trees, Dar made his decision. Gathering together as many piles of wood as possible, Dar prepared an enormous pyre and, once finished with that, began the long and tedious, sometimes overwhelmingly sad, duty of lowering the dead children to the ground where he piled them onto the pyre. At the last count, he was saddened to realize that ten children had been sacrificed to feed the selfish desires of Iara and he was once again filled with anger toward her. Completing one final tour of the clearing to make sure that he had gotten all of the children, Dar was preparing to light the funeral pyre with fire when a shriek split the air and Sharak sent him a vision.

+Warriors on horseback with a child slung across the front of a horse approached from the west. A woman, probably the mother, ran behind, alternately begging and pleading for them to spare the life of her child. The second warrior merely laughed at her tears, while the first warrior clasped the struggling child closer to ensure that he could not escape. +

Finally faced with the opportunity to extract a semblance of justice for the dead children and an opportunity to save another child from certain death, Dar raced through the forest and prepared to meet them before they entered the edge of the forest. Reaching behind him and grasping both ends of his staff he twirled them expertly in his hands and then clasped them together. 

The two warriors were surprised at the sight that met them but thought that they would be able to take care of the lone idiot; they were wrong. Silently, and lethally, the enraged Beastmaster dispatched of the first warrior and separated the child from his grasp before he hit the ground. The second warrior found himself being stalked by an angry tiger and being dive-bombed by a screeching eagle; even the ferrets got into the game. Before they even drew their weapons, the two warriors were disarmed and knocked out. Returning the child to the sobbing mother, Dar told her to warn the villagers that any more child sacrifices would be frowned upon by the snake demon, Iara, herself, he watched as the reunited mother and child headed back to their village. Waking the two warriors, Dar ‘persuaded’ them to leave the surrounding vicinity and head as far away as possible before the villagers decided to come after them for blood.

Returning his staff to its usual position on his back, Dar turned and walked wearily back to the clearing where he had to complete one final act for the souls of the dead children. As he entered the clearing and headed for the funeral pyre, he was startled by a loud cry and, swiftly turning, he watched in surprise as a human body hit the ground seemingly appearing from thin air. Running towards the body, Dar was startled to see it move and an audible gasp escaped his mouth as he saw who it was.

"Tao…" the incredulous whisper bridged the space between them and the relieved Eiron scholar smiled up at the Beastmaster.

"Dar, am I glad to see you. You would not believe the strange things I’ve seen while a ‘guest’ of Iara’s."

The comforting sound of his friend’s voice filled the once silent clearing and Dar realized that for the first time this morning that he was feeling human once again. Closing the distance between them, Dar reached down and clasping Tao’s hand helping him to his feet. 

"Tao, I am so sorry that you had to go through such a terrible ordeal. If I could have stopped her, I would have but I…"

Searching the candid hazel eyes for any hint of blame, Dar desperately apologized to his friend only to be interrupted by said friend. 

"Dar, no. It wasn’t your fault; none of this was your fault. Iara chose to do what she did, we just stumbled into this situation."

Relieved at the fact that that Tao did not blame him for the probably fearful experience of the last two days, Dar was reassured that Tao was none the worse for his ‘adventure’. 

Drawing him towards the fully prepared pyre, Dar grabbed a couple of stones and started the fire to burn the funeral pyre and the children who had been denied their death rights.


	11. Act 10

Standing before the burning funeral pyre, Dar glanced over at the subdued Tao and clasped his shoulder reassuringly. The sorrow-tinged smile that Tao gave him reassured him that although he was feeling sad his friend was going to be all right. Looking back at the funeral pyre, Dar found himself reliving the memory of every other pyre he had stood beside and, with a shudder, brought his attention back to the present and to the comforting presence of the living, breathing Eiron at his side. The feel of Tao’s warm body under his hand brought home to him how fortunate he was to have such a friend and, impulsively, he turned to him.

"Have I ever thanked you for traveling with me, Tao?"

Startled hazel eyes stared into his and he watched in amusement as Tao’s mouth opened and shut in a credible imitation of a fish. Finally, to Dar’s bemusement, Tao reached out and felt Dar’s forehead while mumbling.

"No fever, ok, think Tao, what has Dar been doing while you were hanging out in the underwater cave. Maybe Iara? No, she wouldn’t do anything to Dar that would defeat her whole plan. Then what could it be, maybe…"

Unable to believe what he was hearing, Dar shook Tao’s hand off and frowned at him. 

Tao met his eyes with a serious look in his eyes but when he saw Dar frown at him, he couldn’t hold on any longer and burst out laughing.

"You should see the look on your face, Dar."

Shaking his head good-naturally, Dar pretended to be mad.

"Tao, here I was, trying to communicate with you and you ruined it. I won’t be able to open up to you ever again…" unable to stop himself, Dar laughed along with Tao.

Gradually the two friends settled down and began talking about the events that had led up to this moment. A contemplative Tao questioned Dar on how he was going to react the next time Sharak sent them to save someone and Dar replied immediately.

"I think I will need a little time before I’ll be ready to run into a situation like that again. The next vision Sharak sends me will have to have more information.

Nodding his head in agreement, Tao stared at the funeral pyre with sad eyes.

"I agree. The next time we rescue someone, I want to know just what we’re getting into."

With a serious expression on his face, Dar turned to Tao.

"You know that I will do everything in my power to keep you safe, don’t you Tao?"

Before Tao could do more than nod, a disembodied voice rang out from the forest.

"What do you mean by ‘everything’, Beastmaster?"

The unexpected voice slowed his reaction and, before he could prevent it, two arms reached out of the mist and claimed a victim once again. Jerking the body of the struggling Eiron against her chest, Iara pinned Dar to the spot with her mad, yellow eyes.

"How does it feel, Beastmaster, to regain that which you thought was gone, only to lose it again?" 

Time seemed to move in slow motion as Iara sank her sharp, venomous fangs into Tao’s bared neck. Dar could do nothing but watch helplessly as the poison seeped through to every part of his friend’s body until, no longer able to support his own weight, Tao’s legs gave way, causing him to slump in Iara’s grasp. 

Looking down into the Eiron’s pain/fear filled eyes with satisfaction, the snake demon smirked as she loosened her hold, watching him crumple to the ground before her. Turning away from the clearing that had been witness to more than its share of sadness and pain, Iara paused at the edge of her mist and, without looking back, spoke.

"My ‘gift’ to you, Beastmaster. You no longer have a reason to concern yourself with the affairs of humans and can now devote all your time to the needs of your precious animals."

A roaring sound filled his ears and, for a moment, it was as if the very air around him held its breath in outrage as the figure of the snake demon disappeared from view. Still, the unnatural silence that had settled over the clearing did not abate until:

"dar" 

The faint whisper shattered the pool of crystal silence, causing time to speed up and release Dar from Iara’s spell. Rushing to the side of his fallen friend, he leaned over and rested his trembling hand on Tao’s chest to check for the reassuring beat of his heart. 

"Noooo!!"

The heart-wrenching cry of deep, painful loss rang out into the dark and oppressive night sky.


	12. Act 11

Cradling the lifeless body of his best friend tenderly, Dar shouted out into the curtain of oppressive darkness:

"Sorceress!"

Silence greeted his outburst as he stood quietly in the same clearing where he had lost his friend the first time. Raising tired eyes to the forest around him, Dar watched as his animal companions joined him in mourning. Carefully kneeling down, Dar placed the still body of Tao on the grass and allowed the animals to come closer. Kodo and Podo chattered nervously at the unnatural stillness of their friend while Ruh sniffed at the body. Glancing around the clearing, Dar realized that Sharak was nowhere to be seen and, sending his mind reaching for Sharak, attempted to learn why he was not there.

/Sharak. Why are you not here bidding farewell to Tao? He was a friend to you also. /

When Sharak didn’t reply but kept flying low around a familiar looking mountain, Dar focused his attention on it. 

/The Sorceress’ cavern. Sharak, do you think she will help if you ask? /

Staring at the unimposing mountain, Sharak cut the link between himself and the Beastmaster while peering at the mouth of the cavern. Unsure of the reception he would receive from the Sorceress and the Ancient One. Gathering his courage, he flew into the cavern where the first sight that met his eyes was the entombed figure of his beloved Sorceress. Flying straight for her, he veered to the left when the amber crystal disappeared from before him. Alighting on the amethyst geode, Sharak stared in shock at the spot where the Sorceress had been. 

"I wonder who you are? You wouldn’t be the infamous Sharak, would you?" 

The melodious voice flowed over Sharak’s feathers like a gentle spring rain and he turned his head to stare at whomever had crept up behind him. Standing behind him, dressed as a warrior stood a New Sorceress. Hair the color of golden wheat, longer than her predecessor’s golden-locks, hung below her shoulder blades and was as straight as her predecessor’s was curled while strong-willed grey eyes looked at him curiously. 

Letting loose a screech, Sharak flew at her with talons outstretched, believing that she was responsible for the Sorceress’ predicament, only to fly into an invisible wall. Falling to the ground, stunned, he looked up at the New Sorceress. Before he could recover his balance and fly away, the Ancient One joined them. 

Waving his hand over the immovable Sharak, the Ancient One returned him to his human shape. Glancing between his former and present students, he lifted one well-shaped eyebrow.

"To what do we owe this pleasure, Sharak? You cannot have possibly heard of my new student… perhaps you are here to plead for your beloved Sorceress?"

Shaking his head at the relentlessness of his former pupil, the Ancient One began to leave.

"No."


	13. Act 12

The simple but earnest denial hung in the air stopping the departing Ancient One, who turned and stared at his former student incredulously.

"‘No’? You did not come to save the woman for whom you were cursed? What other reason would you have for daring to enter the cavern?"

Closing his eyes, Sharak thought longingly of his beloved but, remembering the pain in Dar’s eyes, opened his own eyes to glare at his former teacher.

"The Beastmaster’s friend is dead. I wish for you to return his life."

The Ancient One opened his eyes wide at the news of Tao’s death.

"How did this happen?"

The note of anger in the Ancient One’s voice surprised Sharak into answering automatically. 

"The snake demon, Iara."

With a snort of anger the Ancient One turned to the New Sorceress. 

"Do you see now why emotion is to be feared when you are powerful? It causes you to forget that there are Rules that must be followed so as not to disrupt the natural balance of the world."

Nodding her head in agreement, the New Sorceress looked with pity at the stunned Sharak. Deciding that the events presented a learning opportunity, she turned to the Ancient One. 

"What will you do, Ancient One? Is the balance sufficiently disturbed to entail that this mortal should be returned to life?"

At her question, the Ancient One frowned thoughtfully at her. Walking to the scrying pool he gazed into it and, with a wave of his hand, focused on the image of the distraught Beastmaster. The New Sorceress joined her teacher and looked at the emotion that the Beastmaster was exhibiting with wonder. Worried for his friend, Sharak joined them, and for the first time in over a thousand years, former teacher and student stood shoulder to shoulder before the amethyst geode. At the sight of his grieving friend, Sharak looked over at the Ancient One and pleaded once more for the life of the Eiron scholar.

"Ancient One. I beg of you to save his friend. I have known Dar since he was very young and the Eiron is the only friend who has captured his trust and respect so completely. If he looses Tao so soon after loosing Kyra and Curupira… I do not know if Dar will be able to go on."

The Ancient One listened to his impassioned speech and, once he had finished speaking, turned to the New Sorceress.

"Well, my dear? Do you believe that I should return the Eiron to the Beastmaster?"

Closing her eyes in concentration, the New Sorceress stood in silence for several minutes. Finally, after what had felt like a thousand lifetimes to Sharak, she opened her eyes and began pacing. 

"If Curupira is no longer able to create a new beastmaster, then the one that lives now is very important to the balance. If he becomes careless and dies, there will be no other. On the other hand, by taking the life of the Eiron, Iara has broken one of the Rules and should be punished. By allowing the Beastmaster to die and thereby taking from her what she wants, she would be punished…"

With a sinking heart, Sharak listened to the analytical mutterings of the New Sorceress and despaired for Tao’s life. Beside him, the Ancient One listened with a sense of pride to her emotionless discourse. Clapping his hands, he interrupted her monologue. 

"Well said, my dear. However, you have yet to answer my question. Should I bring the Eiron back?"

The New Sorceress folded her arms in displeasure at the Ancient One’s interruption and once he had stopped talking, she snapped at him.

"I was getting there when you interrupted me. If you wanted my answer, you should have waited a little longer."

Raising his eyebrow at her tone, the Ancient One nevertheless waited for her to finish. Watching their interaction, Sharak was surprised at how much the New Sorceress reminded him of the Ancient One and wondered whether this new student would prove to be too similar for his former teacher to handle. Letting loose with a long sigh, the New Sorceress looked at the two men anxiously waiting her verdict. Preening herself at the sight of the all-powerful Ancient One waiting for her to speak, she cleared her throat before opening her mouth.

"The balance of nature would be disrupted beyond repair if the Beastmaster were to die, therefore I believe that the mortal should be returned to life. What you choose to do to Iara, however, is not of my concern."

The silence in the cavern was complete as they digested what she had said until Sharak, realizing what this meant for Dar, turned to the Ancient One.

"Restore Tao, Ancient One. Your New Sorceress has spoken."

Flicking an indecipherable look at his insolent former student, the Ancient One waved his hand over the image in the geode and froze it. Focusing on the figure of the dead Eiron, he snapped his fingers and watched smugly as he began to breathe.

"Happy now, Sharak? Your precious Beastmaster still has his human companion. Now, I suggest you leave before I change my mind."

Sharak thanked his former teacher quietly and waited for the familiar effects of the shift to begin. When he had returned to his eagle form, Sharak flew out of the cavern with a shrill screech. Watching the eagle fly away until he could no longer see him, the Ancient One turned to his newest student with a frown.

"Now, my dear, the balance was restored thanks to your suggestion but I believe we need to work on the gross lack of proper student etiquette that you have exhibited."

Frowning in confusion, the New Sorceress followed her teacher as he led her further into the cavern.


	14. Act 13

The grief-stricken Dar knelt with bowed head beside the still body of Tao, remembering the many adventures that they had shared. Dar was so lost in the memories that he missed the first sign of Tao’s return and only when the ferrets bit him did he look down at his friend. Eyes widening in barely concealed hope, Dar watched as Tao’s chest began to slowly rise and fall. Uncertain of the validity of what he was seeing, he tentatively lowered his hand to Tao’s chest and felt for himself the steady beat of the Eiron’s heart. Suddenly anxious to hear his friend’s voice, Dar leaned over Tao’s still form. 

"Tao?" 

His muted voice fell into the silence that permeated the clearing and seemed to echo with a hint of fear. Waiting to see if Tao would awaken, Dar’s concentration was broken by a loud screech. Looking up, he watched as Sharak dive-bombed from the sky to land smoothly on a nearby rock. 

/Beastmaster. Has the Eiron awakened? /

At Sharak’s worried query, Dar quirked his lips in a slight smile while shaking his head.

"No, but he is breathing. I don’t know what you said to the Sorceress but I would gladly pay any price she would extract for this gift."

Gazing down at the hand still resting on Tao’s chest, he closed his eyes as he felt the reassuring rhythm of the beating heart. Losing himself in the sound, Dar felt his attention drift and, with a start, shook himself out of his momentary daze to face Sharak once more.

"How did you talk her into restoring him?"

Ruffling his feathers in agitation, Sharak peered at the Beastmaster.

/The Sorceress had nothing to do with restoring his life; in fact she is no longer in any position to help or hinder us. The New Sorceress convinced The Ancient One to give Tao back to you. They seemed to think that it would restore the balance of nature that Iara had tampered with when she took his life. /

Shaking his head in confusion, Dar decided not to question his good fortune and concentrated on waking Tao. Unwilling to remove his hand from his friend’s chest, he used his unoccupied hand to gently shake his friend’s body. On the third shake, he felt a change in the rhythm of the heartbeat under his palm and, with baited breath, waited to see what would happen. Under the watchful gaze of the Beastmaster and his animal companions, Tao’s eyes began to move beneath their lids until, finally, they opened, staring up at Dar who self-consciously removed his hand. Blinking up at the figure of Dar, Tao sat up suddenly and looked around himself fearfully before turning his attention back to his motionless friend. 

"Dar?"

At the sound of his voice, Dar was galvanized into action and, reaching out, he pulled Tao into a tight embrace.


	15. Act 14

Unsure of what had happened from the moment that Iara had bitten him to Dar hugging him, Tao tensed at the gesture before relaxing into his friend’s embrace. Resting his head on Dar’s shoulder, Tao closed his eyes and took a deep breath in relief. A moment later his eyes flew open and he jumped out of the Beastmaster’s arms with a startled yelp.

"Get it off me, get it off…!"

Ignoring the surprised Dar, Tao whirled around and almost collided with the source of his panic. Gold-flecked hazel eyes met golden-brown eyes as Tao found himself pinned by Ruh’s intense gaze. Frowning in confusion, he felt the back of his neck and then looked at Ruh in shock.

"You licked me? What did you do that for?"

Shaking his massive head, Ruh stretched out and nuzzled the stunned Eiron. Unable to comprehend what was happening but overjoyed at the contact from the tiger, Tao tentatively settled his hand on Ruh’s head and began kneading behind his ears. A low purring sound rose from the resting tiger and his eyes closed in blissful comfort. The ferrets and Sharak followed close after Ruh in greeting their bumbling companion and, with Dar joining in; the meadow that had seen so much bloodshed was treated to the sound of life through laughter.

********

The next day dawned bright and beautiful as the two friends returned to their interrupted journey. Tao rambled on about the healing qualities found in certain venomous snakes while Dar listened to the sound of his friend’s voice. Suddenly, a phrase that his friend had said registered in his mind and he reached out to stop Tao from going any further. 

"You saw what?"

The incredulity in his voice stopped Tao in the middle of a word and he turned worried eyes to his friend. 

"What do you mean? What did I see?"

Without answering him, Dar prodded the confused Eiron scholar.

"You don’t remember? You were speaking about the beauty of the day and then said something about how beautiful the place where…"

"…the two world’s meet is."

Startled hazel eyes met the Beastmaster’s eyes and the two friends shared a look of surprise.

"I remember," Tao spoke haltingly. "I saw colors you could not believe and people that I thought I would never see again and wonders the likes of which I have never even imagined…."

A strong hand covering his mouth halted his words and his eyes widened at the closeness of his friend. Serious brown eyes held his as Dar removed his hand.

"Tao, what you saw, what you experienced, is something you cannot share with anyone. The Sula have tales of those who crossed the divide only to return changed but lost their gift when they told others of the wonders they saw. Whatever you saw in that world beyond this is for you and you alone."

Stunned, Tao could do nothing but listen wordlessly to what Dar had to tell him. 

For his part, Dar found himself struggling with the fear that the visit to the world beyond might result in a change that Tao would be unable to bear, similar to the Sula men and women he had known who had experienced the mixed blessing. A tentative touch on his arm brought his attention back from the past and Dar opened his eyes to look into the worried hazel eyes of his friend. 

"Dar, are you all right?"

The caress of breath that warmed his arm caused Dar to reach out and place his hand on Tao’s chest, over his beating heart. For a moment, the two of them stood still and silently acknowledged their relief at being in each other’s company once more before Tao, who could never remain silent for long, began questioning the Beastmaster again. Listening to the Eiron speak, Dar shook aside all his worries and let the sound of his beloved friend’s voice wash over him and cleanse him of all the fear and pain he had experienced.

‘Nothing, not even the touch of beyond, can change Tao too much.’ Dar thought with pleasure and a sense of humor as Tao continued to ramble on as they traveled, ‘I have nothing to worry about.’

As that final thought flittered through his mind, Dar suddenly shuddered as he felt a cold touch on his arm. 

‘Please let there be nothing to worry about, I’ve already lost him once, I can’t survive loosing him again.’ 

Dar was unsure whom he was sending his heartfelt prayer to but he knew that he would need all the help he could get to keep his precious friend alive. Listening to Tao, Dar looked over at the ambling tiger who was keeping a watchful eye on the still talking Eiron. Golden eyes met brown eyes and they promised without words to do everything in their power to insure the continued safety of their traveling companion. A shriek from overhead signaled Sharak’s agreement with Ruh’s promise and his words filled Dar with a sense of well being. 

/Together, we will protect him from whatever and whoever might try to harm him. /

********

Gazing into the pool of water at her feet, Iara stared with ill-concealed anger at the sight of the two friends traveling side-by-side. Glaring at the figure of the living, breathing Eiron scholar, the snake demon knew that only one person could have disrupted her plans. 

"Ancient One, you will regret the day you meddled in my affairs."

Her malevolent hiss echoed in the cave, mingling with the sound of steadily dripping water.

The End (?)

**Author's Note:**

> My apologies for the flashback sequences but I beg your indulgence since this was written some twelve years ago. I hope you are able to enjoy the story anyway.


End file.
